Broken Promises
by Zodiac Guardian
Summary: [Oneshot] Sometimes one promise that can't be kept, will change the lives of others forever... Reviews appreciated.


Brome returned to Noonvale, along with a lot of other new and familiar faces. Everyone was greeting the newcomers and there was much rejoicing for what seemed like forever. It was only after a while before his father came up to him that the creatures that have arrived became silent.

"Brome my son I see that you are well," he said cheerfully as he gave him a hug.

"Yeah…"

"Where's your sister?" he asked, breaking the embrace.

"She… she died…" he muttered, averting his gaze from his father.

Everyone in Noonvale besides those who have just arrived gasped in shock at the alarming news. Urran Voh took a step back in shock, but stopped and laughed heartily.

"That's a good joke, but please be serious now Brome," he said half-heartedly.

"I'm not making this up," he said lightly. He waved his paw towards him and two otters brought over the body of Rose.

Everyone around them started breaking into tears as they looked at the unmoving body of Rose. Urran Voh, however, didn't shed any tears. He turned around and ran away from the scene.

Aryah walked up to Rose and held her paw, still sobbing from the sight of her. Brome walked up to her and knelt beside her. Everything was silent for a while. Keyla suggested everyone leave so that the two can have some time alone, and they begun to walk away, some still crying, and others with sullen faces.

"I'm sorry mother…"

"It's okay, it's not your fault…"

"But it is! If I hadn't run off, then Rose would've never came after me. She would have never suffered the fate that came to her, its all my fault," he yelled, interrupting her from what she was going to say. He began crying from the guilt that won't leave him.

"But Brome, think about it, if you hadn't run off, then everybody who escaped would still be slaves. More of them will keep dying and more creatures would have had to suffer. You would've never made so many friends and…"

"But Rose…"

"It's alright… I'm deeply saddened by her death, but… she died fighting for what she believed what was right… I'm sure that she wouldn't have wanted us to mope over her death forever…"

"So… are you mad at Martin?"

"No, I could never be mad at him. As soon as I saw him, I knew that Rose loved someone who was strong and brave and trustworthy… and I think he loved her as much too…" she said slowly. "I'm guessing that he's feeling much worse then we are…"

"Yeah…"

The two sat there beside Rose for a little longer in silence before Brome lifted his sister and the two began walking back inside their house. A funeral was held a few days after the return. Everyone was dressed in black and didn't speak a word during, before or after the funeral. They just watched as the moles put her to rest. After she was buried, Aryah planted a small bush onto the floor where Rose slept eternally. Grumm then walked up and set a headstone in front of the bushel. The two walked back and stood in silence like the rest.

Brome looked around and saw that his father still wasn't back yet. He said nothing for it seems that everyone already knew that he wasn't there. Not too long after, it seemed as though the sky too wept for the death of Rose, and the rain began falling towards the ground. Soon, one by one, they began to leave for their home.

It was next morning when Brome awoke. It is still raining from yesterday, but he grabbed a cloak and went outside to visit Rose's grave anyways. As he was walking out, his mother came along with him.

"You really shouldn't come mom, you might get sick or something…"

"Don't worry about me Brome, I'll be alright."

They walked together, side by side to the gravesite and saw another creature standing there. Brome ran up ahead and saw that it was his father who was staring at the grave. He turned his eyes to look at him for a second, before looking back at the grave.

"Father…"

"You know Brome… there was only one person who's truly to blame for Rose's death… I just can't believe that I couldn't have stopped this from happening…"

"Yeah… Badrang's the only one that anyone really can blame…"

"Badrang?" he asked indignantly. "He was only partly to blame for Rose's death. The one who's really at fault here is that Martin fellow."

"What?" Brome asked in shock.

"I should have never trusted him… if only I had said no… Rose would have never left with that whelp and die."

"You can't blame Martin!"

"What do you mean I can't? He claims that he's a warrior, but I see no warrior in him, he swore that he'd protect her with his life, but while she dies, he still lives. What kind of warrior can't even keep a simple promise," Urran shouted. "It would have been better if he had just stayed and died at that forsaken fortress!"

"Are you saying that it was better if everyone else there had died?"

"So what? Everyone is bound to die at some point, if they had just stayed there and left us out of their stupid affairs, Rose and many others wouldn't have had to die!"

"By saying that, your saying that it would have been better if I had died there and that I am partly to blame for her death."

"It wouldn't have been your fault if you hadn't run off in the first place!"

"I wouldn't have run off if you hadn't nagged and yelled at me all the time!"

"You ungrateful wench, what kind of son takes no pride in his family; have you no shame in yourself?"

"Have you no shame in yourself for saying that it's better that others suffer while we don't? What kind of chief is that?"

"Shut up!" he yelled loudly, smacking Brome hard across his face. He stared at Brome angrily, his face showing no sign of pity or shock over what he just did, "I no longer see you as a son in my face anymore, you who side with the one who caused Rose's death. I vow that if I ever see him again, I'll kill him with my own two paws, or die trying to, and if you try to intervene… I'll kill you too…"

Brome watched as his father walked away, still shocked by the punch and words that he had received. His mother raced towards him when she saw him get punched and reached him quickly, embracing him tightly.

"Brome, I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you, and didn't mean any of what he just said… he's just frustrated after what happened."

"No… he was serious about what he said," he muttered lightly. "Listen, I must leave here soon…"

"Brome…"

"Please… I need to find some answers…"

"Okay… if it's what you want, then I'll accept your wish…"

"I promise you, I'll return here one day. I'll stop crying and become stronger for everyone's benefit, and I'll prove father wrong about Martin."

Aryah broke her embrace and stared at him, "Brome, I don't care if you keep your first promise, but promise me this though, even if it were that whatever your father said was right or that he was wrong, promise me, just promise me that you won't ever bring yourself to hate another creature no matter what."

"I promise…"

Brome left the next morning, heading south and was never seen in the northlands ever since, but Aryah kept waiting, for she knew that he'd return one day, eventually…

* * *

Did this one in three hours or so, I'm still debating whether I should have posted this or not, seeing as I did this one just out of boredom. Guess I'll just delete it at some point in time, depending on how people react to it... 


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